


Couldn't Help It, Darling

by Flarrow



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Green Arrow - All Media Types, The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Canonical Character Death, M/M, Time Loop, Time Travel, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 21:19:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4761401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flarrow/pseuds/Flarrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They love, and they've loved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Couldn't Help It, Darling

**Author's Note:**

> Sighhhh...life has had me SO incredibly busy, that I haven't had time to really place the effort in my current WiP's. It's actually quite depressing. Lately I've been coming home tired most days. I've got chapters mostly fleshed out, but not completely tied up and ready to post, and I've started a million new ideas that I don't have the heart to post right now because I can't guarantee that they'll get finished at the moment. :(
> 
> Been really wanting to get out at least a one-shot for a while now, and so here's my attempt. I'm sorry if it's terrible. I've been having a hell of a hard time with being creative recently as well. *Runs off into a corner and cries* 
> 
> Fic inspired by “[My Immortal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5anLPw0Efmo)” by Evanescence.

Oliver was surprised to find Barry on the other side of the door when he opened it. An eyebrow arched as Barry pushed past him easily with a grin and his suitcase.

“Not that I'm actually complaining, but aren't you supposed to be heading to that geek conference right about now?” Oliver asked, not bothering to hide the confusion in his tone.

“ _Scientists_ , Ollie,” Barry corrected the older man fondly. “We're called _scientists_. Anyway, turns out I got the dates mixed up. My flight isn't until tomorrow.”

Oliver shook his head in amusement. “Of _course_ you would.”

“Yeah,” Barry said as he propped his suitcase by the stairs before turning around to face Oliver with a smile. “But that means we've got more time.”

Oliver quirked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Time for what?”

The only warning Oliver got was a mischievous grin and gentle tug of his arm before he was suddenly whisked away into their bedroom. It took Oliver a second to realize that Barry had somehow managed to strip the both of them naked and have the older man completely on his back, straddled by the speedster.

The only words Oliver could think of to say in that moment were, “Holy... _wow_...”

The older man noted how sexy Barry looked right then, face flushed and panting slightly from his efforts. As Oliver raked his eyes over the younger man's features, his brows started to furrow together slightly.

Apparently, Barry took notice. “What…?” he asked.

Oliver shook his head. “...nothing,” he said, somewhat hesitant. “It's just...you seem—oh, _shit…_!”

What he'd been about to say pretty much flew out the window when he felt a gentle breeze just before Barry suddenly went from one position to another, and now the speedster was _blowing_ him. Oliver took hold of a fistful of Barry's hair and groaned.

“ _Damn_ , Barr…! What the hell…?” Oliver growled, eyes darkening with lust. “Since when did you get so... _sexy_ …?”

The older man almost didn't know what to make of it when Barry lifted his head and winked. “Just try and keep up, okay, _old man?_ ”

Oliver felt his jaw drop a little. “What the—you little _punk!_ ”

Barry laughed and suddenly the pair began to wrestle around. Oliver found himself turned on immensely by Barry's moans as he bit and nipped at various places on the younger man's body. Oliver eventually won their little game, and after a brief fumbling around for lubricant, the older man slicked himself before sliding his hot length inside a rather enthusiastic Barry.

“Oh _fuck…_! Oh please, oh _please_ , Ollie…!” the younger man begged, arching his back, hands grasping at the pillows behind his head and body damp with sweat. He practically mewled when Oliver grazed his teeth over a nipple.

Wanting the moment to last despite his own overwhelming desires, Oliver surprised even himself with the amount of control he had, rolling his hips slowly as he fucked Barry. He crushed their lips together for a kiss, preventing the younger man from verbally vocalizing his frustrations and instead greedily swallowing the other man's pleasured moans.

Eventually though, desire won out, and soon the older man was pounding Barry mercilessly into the mattress. When Oliver finally came, just a few seconds after Barry had experienced his own release, the older man was pretty sure he'd experienced the best sex in his entire life.

Several hours passed before either of them felt the inspiration to get up and clean themselves off. They ended up having another round in the shower, but it was nowhere near as charged as the first time; they were both surprisingly exhausted.

Laughing, the pair later managed to somehow stumble back into bed, and after a bit of affectionate nuzzling and conversation, things slowly winded down to a lull. Completely sated, Oliver was the first to drift off to sleep.

For a long time, it seemed, Barry lay there, staring. Memorizing every bit of Oliver's features. Finally, the younger man leaned forward, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips gently against Oliver's forehead. He sucked in a short breath when the older man stirred, but Oliver stilled again after a moment, peacefully resting. Barry's smile was soft and warm. He looked on for a while longer, regarding his lover fondly.

At last, he spoke. His voice slightly cracked as he whispered.

“I love you, Ollie.”

Then, with control and skill from years of perfecting his technique, Barry managed to slip out from the bed, out the room, and down the stairs without so much as disturbing the man he left behind. Just before rushing out the front door, Barry made sure to take his suitcase, which he had left by the staircase the night before.

Before rushing at breakneck speed, Barry tossed the suitcase away as he passed by a dumpster—the thing was empty anyhow. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon as Barry angled himself and shot forward.

When sunlight began to stream through the curtains, Oliver slowly began to wake. He started to stretch and his eyes fluttered just moments before his alarm sounded. Groaning, Oliver turned over on his side and reached out with one of his arms. He frowned when he realized the bed was cold beside him, and Oliver slowly rose halfway, rubbing at one of his eyes with the palm of one hand. Then, leaning on his elbows, Oliver turned his head to the left and to the right before calling out in a voice still gravelly with sleep.

“ _Barry_ …?”

He waited for a moment, but there was no answer. Oliver flopped his face against the pillow in front of him and let out a sigh as he gathered his thoughts. Slowly, but surely, he eventually managed to get himself out of bed. He made a quick sweep through the rooms and found it odd that Barry was nowhere in sight.

“That's strange...” Oliver muttered to himself as he made his way back to the bedroom and picked up a phone by the nightstand.

At about the same time as Oliver punched in a number, Barry was traveling through space and time. In the singularity, Barry could hear the ensuing conversation echo all around him. It was both familiar to him as it was foreign; words from a time long gone by.

“ _Hello?”_

Oliver's lips twitched slightly at one corner, despite his bewilderment. “Hey, it's me.”

The smile broadened as the speedster's laughter filled his ears. _“Oh! Ollie!”_

“Did you...catch an early flight?” Oliver asked.

“ _Huh…? What do you mean?”_ Barry asked. _“I left yesterday afternoon, remember? You saw me off.”_

“...but then you came back,” Oliver said, the frown slowly returning, creasing his features. “Didn't you?”

“ _Uh...as far as I know, no,”_ said Barry.

“Huh. That's strange...” Oliver murmured.

“ _Is everything all right?”_ Barry asked, and Oliver could hear the beginnings of worry creep into his lover's tone.

“I...” Oliver started, but then trailed off as he took a look around the room.

“ _Ollie…?”_

Oliver shook his head even though he knew Barry couldn't see him do it. “Never mind. I must have been dreaming or something...”

 _“Yeah?”_ Barry said, sounding relieved.

“Yeah,” Oliver affirmed. “Felt real.”

A small smile formed on his lips when he heard Barry chuckle. _“Oh? Anything good?”_

It was at this point in the conversation that the Barry in the singularity faltered, for just a fraction of a second. He did remember this conversation.

_“The best.”_

Tears flowed freely from Barry's eyes. This had happened before then, he realized. Perhaps many times. It was both comforting and bittersweet, to know that he wasn't the first. To learn that he hadn't actually deviated so far from the original timeline, if at all. The voices grew further away as Barry drew closer to his own time.

Oliver's voice. _“When do you come back home again?”_

 _Two days._ Barry thought, remembering the detail at the same time as his self in the past said it.

He had laughed, of course, back then, when Oliver groaned. _“Damn, that's a long time!”_

_“Hey, it'll be over before you know it.”_

_“I still don't understand why you needed to get a hotel.”_

_“Ollie. I was **not** going to run between cities just to go to bed!”_

_“Yeah, yeah...I know. It's impractical.”_

He'd been called away then, to speak. _“Listen, Oll? I'm supposed to go and speak in a few minutes. Call you later?”_

_“As soon as you're done.”_

_“I. Promise,”_ Barry had sworn with mock solemnity. _“Bye. I love you!”_

The speedster stepped onto the same street he'd entered the singularity on; fifty years from the date of the last thing he heard Oliver utter behind him as the past sealed shut.

_“Love you too, Barr.”_

The sound of ringing started in his ears, and it was like the world around him had gone on mute as Barry slowly walked towards the old Queen mansion. Pulling out the key from his pocket, Barry unlocked the front door and walked in.

Gradually, he made his way up the staircase and towards the master bedroom. Gently shutting the door behind him, Barry placed his keys on a dresser and he made his way towards the bed. He sat down on the edge of it, looking somewhat dazed as he slowly turned his head, looking about the room. How many memories they had made together here, Barry thought to himself. How they had _loved_. There were pictures, all over the room and all over the mansion, of himself and Oliver, though the only one who visibly aged in most of them was the former Vigilante. Due to the speedforce, Barry just aged slower.

Feeling drained, Barry eventually turned himself around so that he could crawl his body more onto the bed. He settled down on his stomach and let the side of his face rest against a pillow. His breathing calm and even, Barry let himself grow numb. The Oliver here wasn't with him anymore. He had lived to see eighty-six, as Eobard Thawne had once predicted, and then he was gone all too soon, it seemed. Only a week had gone by before Barry had broken and given in. He had hoped it would bring him closure. Instead, it made him miss Oliver all the more.

There would be no more additional trips back to the past, Barry knew. At least, not for his own selfish reasons. He knew Oliver would have simply disapproved, if he'd been around to voice his opinion. Growing weary, fresh tears flowed from his eyes as Barry closed them.

And it was a wonder—Barry thought to himself after a time—how, _anatomically speaking_ , a broken heart's beat could sound just the same as a perfectly happy one.


End file.
